The cave lion is a variety of lion.
Distribution
Cave lions once inhabited Westeros.[1]
History
The greenseers of the children of the forest are said to have called upon cave lions to fight on their behalf against the encroaching First Men.[1]
Recent events
Jaime Lannister dreams of being trapped beneath Casterly Rock alongside Brienne Tarth. During it, she asks if a cave lion or other large wildlife is kept there, but Jaime tells her there is only doom.[2]
Quotes
The greenseers employed their arts, and tales say that they could call the beasts of marsh, forest, and air to fight on their behalf: direwolves and monstrous snowbears, cave lions and eagles, mammoths and serpents, and more. But the First Men proved too powerful.[1]
Brienne: A cave lion? Direwolves? Some bear? Tell me, Jaime. What lives here? What lives in the darkness?
Jaime: Doom. Only doom.[2]
Behind the scenes
The cave lion of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels appears to be based on one of the species cave lion: Panthera spelaea, Panthera atrox or Panthera fossilis.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The World of Ice & Fire, Ancient History: The Coming of the First Men.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 44, Jaime VI.